The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, the same group that welcomed the Pilgrims to America, finally achieved a reservation last week when the Department of the Interior formally granted land in trust status for 170 acres in the town of Mashpee and 151 acres in Taunton, a city 50 miles away. The tribe plans to build a casino in Taunton, should the Massachusetts Gaming Commission give its OK. And since the casino enabling legislation in the state specifically reserved a casino license for the tribe, there is little to stop them now.
“This cements our right to self-determination now and for future generations,” Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said. “After decades of painstaking work, we are overjoyed the government of the United States has officially issued this reservation proclamation, as we are witnessing the rebirth of our nation.”
The tribe achieved federal recognition in 2007.
Possible roadblocks to the casino could be lawsuits challenging the land-into-trust decision. Cromwell says none have yet been filed, but expects at least one from the commercial casino company, Rush Street Gaming, that wants to get a license in the southeastern region that is slated for the Mashpees.
While Cromwell remains committed to the casino, he says the tribe will be taking steps to establish itself as a nation, such as setting up public services, adopt tribal laws and set up a public safety operation in Mashpee.
“Re-establishing sovereignty and building a modern nation is no small task,” he said.
Meanwhile with an another branch of the tribe, federal Judge Dennis Saylor IV doubled down on an earlier decision that prevents the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) from opening a Class II casino on Martha’s Vineyard by issuing a permanent injunction against the proposed bingo hall.
The injunction had been requested by the state of Massachusetts, the town of Aquinnah and the Aquinnah/Gay Head Community Association Inc., who all sued to stop the casino.
The tribe says it plans to appeal Saylor’s ruling, which held that the tribe is bound by a 1987 settlement act that it signed with the town and state in return for being granted 400 acres on the island as a reservation. The judge said the settlement, which was approved by Congress was “valid and enforceable,” despite the tribe’s contention that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 superseded it.
